A widow who was assaulted by her husband at their Ripley home is now desperate to clear his name after he died from a brain tumour.

David McFadden pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife Jo and was described in court as drunk, violent and cruel.

But his widow Jo now says he was nothing of the sort - she says what happened was because he was seriously ill.

Jo, 57, says she wants to set the record straight. She said: “David was a kind man, he was a caring man and he was a funny man. But above all he was a gentleman.”

Jo had a bad car accident when she was 27 which left her in a coma for three weeks and said it was only with David's help at the time that she was able to lead a full life. She said: “We had a great life together.”

David and Jo McFadden with Doreen the Bedlington whippet

But, on the night of January 22, after being at his allotment all day, David came home and assaulted his wife after drinking half a bottle of wine.

He started shouting before finally grabbing Jo’s face. Police were called and David stayed at his sister’s for the next three weeks. After the attack, Jo admits she was scared of what her husband had become.

“I thought: who was this monster?” she said. “My sister asked him ‘where had that lovely man gone?’.”

After the court case was over and David returned home, everyone tried to put the incident behind them. When the couple went on holiday later in the year, however, it became clear that something was seriously wrong. “He was doing strange things and complaining of earache,” said Jo.

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“I thought he was depressed but, when we saw a doctor, she gave him a memory test and he couldn’t remember who the Prime Minister was.”

At that stage, the doctor assumed it was dementia and called for more tests but, by the time David was taken to Derby Royal later in July, he could neither walk not talk.

“They said he had a massive brain tumour and there was nothing they could do - palliative care only,” remembered Jo. “He was always very particular about personal hygiene so the staff got him a private room and gave him a bed bath and some clean bedding.

"The room was filled with love and me and his son were holding his hand. He had the breeze on his face and he smelled of Versace - he kept his dignity.”

The doctors told Jo that, because of how big David’s tumour was, it was likely to have affected his behaviour and personality for some time.

It was only when it started to bleed - possibly around the time the couple were on holiday that the 73-year-old’s condition became more acute.

A former builder, David is survived by his wife Jo, his five children and his beloved Bedlington whippet, Doreen. He was also blessed with eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and had many friends in the local community and beyond.